“With this one, it was more about an economy of scale. It started with the
songs. Instead of having an album to fill, it was more like, ‘Let’s get as
many great songs as we can and turn that into a great album.’

“I think people will fall in love with it in the same way they did with Hopes
And Fears.

“For all of the stuff that we’ve done, we’ve worked out what our strengths
are.

“A lot of the bands that were around when we released our first album have
been and gone, and that’s quite sad.

“We’re still here and we genuinely feel that we’ve suddenly reached the peak
of our powers.

“We know ourselves and we feel very confident in what we do and the album’s a
reflection of that.”

Keane recorded Strangeland in keyboardist/songwriter Tim Rice-Oxley’s home
studio – meaning the lads didn’t have the burden of studio deadlines to
contend with.

Tom said: “We’ve got everything there that we’ve collected over the years.

“It was really lovely to be in there with that freedom to make music at our
own pace. It definitely suited us. I think that’s why the songs are so honed
and polished.

“There are no loose ends that we forgot to tie-up. Bands often think, ‘Oh God,
I wish we would have done this differently.’

“But none of us feel like anything needs changing, which is a rare thing. I
feel great about it.”

Despite brimming with confidence eight years into their career, Tom admits
Keane’s future remains permanently in the balance.